Abstract/synthesis of MI Chapter two Michael Diffin
Abstract:
This chapter illustrates the importance of teaching to the individual multiple intelligences of the students and how these teaching styles would work with ourselves. The chapter makes us look at how the students learn and how we can accommodate these learning styles. There are many learning styles that we must accommodate and work with the students in order to find out how to have the students get the most out of the classes they are in. the chapter also concentrates on how the intelligences are developed and how to further develop them. The chapter heavily concentrates on the different factors that were uncontrollable by the students and how these affect the multiple intelligences. There are many factors that are uncontrollable that were results of situations and events both inside and outside of the classroom. There are however many ways to take what we know about MI theory and change how we teach so that we are teaching all of our students.
Synthesis:
There are an abundance of things inside and outside of the classroom that influence the way that children learn and will continue to learn in the future. These influences have been affecting them since they were born and unfortunately all of the multiple intelligences are usually not facilitated. It is the job of the teacher to use the lesson to change the lesson to fit the individual. The necessary first step is for the teacher to discover their own multiple intelligences, their strengths and weaknesses. For the teacher to know their own strengths and weaknesses they know how people of their intelligences do and do not learn, this would also allow the teacher to better understand how people the complete opposite of them would learn. There is a large section on asking for help. Asking for help would facilitate not only healthy relationships with between the students and teachers but allow them to show directly how the student learns. It is also a good idea to get help from other teachers as they may learn differently. To get help from a music teacher would make so that the students in your class who learn better with music get the information better, this would be the same if you were to as an art teacher. There are also many activities that can be done to access all of the intelligences.
Cole Phillips
Chapter Two
One of the beautiful things about the concept of Multiple Intelligences is that, once aware of our own, we have the ability to develop both our strongest and weakest traits in attempt to make ourselves well-rounded and adaptable professionals. Whether noticing strong traits in others, or simply doing some reading, we have the capacity to expand our minds.
Ours is a world filled with diversity, skills and talents, allotting us a veritable pool from which to draw experiences and ideas. Our colleagues are often excellent examples of such pools. Should we allow ourselves to malleable and open to development, we can gain insight from the teachers around us, taking note of their abilities, their experiences, and their stories. Perhaps, though, our most important and most potent sources for such expansion ability lie in our students. Being able to recognize a student’s needs or wants in the classroom, and understanding that such desires will often be out of our individual comfort zones, is key to understanding where we need to improve so that we may offer the best possible learning experience for each and every student, despite our inherent abilities. If we can master general thinking, and then hone in on the specifics that cater to each and every student and allow them to leave the classroom feeling fulfilled, then we have adequately developed our Multiple Intelligences, and we can continue to get better with every class.
Cheyenne
This is the chapter I needed! The heading “Developing Your Multiple Intelligences” is exactly what I hope to do. My main intelligence is Visual/Spatial, which was tied with Verbal/Linguistic, but I hope to be knowledgeable in all eight of the intelligences. I thought the “crystallizing experiences” and “paralyzing experiences” were very interesting concepts. They make sense, reading the paragraph I tried to think of subjects I really enjoy and subjects I could not care less to engage in; then tried to think of any experiences that made me like or dislike them. This is definitely going to impact me in the classroom (as a teacher), I don’t ever want to be a student’s “paralyzing experience”. I will make sure to be very conscious of my actions. I am definitely going to use this as a guide, it is full of useful advice that I can use when I feel stuck with a student or my own teaching method. Knowing that environmental influences can promote or suppress the development is a very important note to keep in mind. I knew that family life and other things like that impacted who we are, but I never thought about it influencing the actual way we learn and are intelligent. I guess I thought it was something we were born with. Knowing this, my classroom will definitely be impacted by who my students truly are. I will need to get to know my students personally, who they are outside of class, and furthermore, outside of school, to make sure I am benefiting them as learners and people.
Devin Boilard
Chapter Two: MI Theory and Personal Development Chapter Two did well to reiterate how we as individuals have a “go to” intelligence in which we are internally wired to resort to. The last chapter did well to make me aware of this trait and how it can be detrimental to the learning of some of my students who excel under alternative methods. Two suggestions that were proposed in this chapter that I thought were excellent recommendations was the seeking out of input by those who vary from you in their learning styles. Inquiring to a fellow college in the Science department as to how I might incorporate methods to better attract the naturalists in the classroom is an easy and effect activity to start the brainstorming process. The second recommendation was to go straight to the source, the students themselves. We as teachers are learners as well and the opportunity to work one-on-one with students that differ from our preferred intelligence is one of the best modes to gather data on how these individuals think. The conclusion of Chapter Two does well to support this idea, stressing the natural ability of all individuals to possess talents in each of the eight intelligences, as well as the capability to advance them. Many individuals are quick to down play their success in the intelligences that are not their most dominant, in doing so they halt the process of expanding their understanding and advancing those techniques. In correlation to this, Chapter Two does well to mention the external factors that play a significant part in the maturing of each of these intelligences, such as the role nurture vs. nature plays. As a teacher I should not only adapt my teaching style to incorporate the methods that work best for each student but also push them to work outside their comfort zone and develop those skills that are underdeveloped not due to ability but because of circumstance.
Ashley Godbout
I learned that intelligences can be activated and deactivated depending on surroundings, upbringings, social economic status, and access to resources. A teacher can also play a huge role in this process and sometimes may not even realize it. In the book they reference to when a kid brings a piece of artwork to class and the teacher (or students) laugh at it causing the beginning of his artistic growth to be crushed. Negativity, anger, fear, and guilt are all reasons that forbid our intelligences to grow and flourish. As a teacher, I want to do the opposite. A child could miss out on an opportunity to discover something about them and I wouldn’t want to be the one who caused that. I want to foster intelligence growth in my students and use activities that help their neglected, or paralyzed, intelligences develop. The book makes a point to tell us that we don’t need to be proficient in all eight intelligences but that we should know how to use resources for the ones we usually don’t think about. When developing curriculum we should go to a music teacher to help incorporate those who think musically for example. All eight intelligences should be physically represented when creating curriculum so all students can have the opportunity to shine in class and be interested in the content. Lastly, as a teacher I think it might be weird to ask students for advice but this might be the best option. We want to think more like them and strengthen our intelligences to be like theirs so what better what to do then ask them. Their strategies and abilities could be extremely helpful to other and future students.
Russell Warren
It was pleasing to read Thomas Armstrong recognize that intelligence, multiple or not, is not just based on hard work. The idea that with enough hard work, a person can reach great success, really frustrates me. Like Armstrong, I understand that most people require the ability to fine tune and work of equalizing their own personal intelligences, but in many cases, like his example of Mozart, genius “arises through a confluence of biological, personal, and cultural / historical factors” (p. 28). This relates back to my argument regarding standardized testing. Yes, they serve a purpose, but the culture of our education has focused so fully on good test-taking skill and excellent marks and grades, that many students, including myself, were commonly left behind. Armstrong states that these occasions are called paralyzing experiences, and I have personally seen many of my fellow students throughout my education be pushed behind due to their lack of following the accepted path of singular intelligence. Personally, I found myself throughout middle school and much of high school falling behind due to my lack of discussion in class, or the completion of my homework. I was a smart student and I really enjoyed being in school, but the way some of my classes were organized didn’t allow me to grow or simply understand concepts I troubled with, including science and math. On my MI evaluation in class, I didn’t receive one logical/mathematical choice, in either free of forced. However, I excelled in intrapersonal and verbal/linguistic. It’s unfair to many students to inflict a regimented and inflexible classroom, as many of them will be physically unable and without the capacity to develop their intelligence and understand the material and concepts being taught.
Tyler Michaud
The second chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on the development of different intelligences, including elements that could hinder or hasten them. Three factors decide whether an intelligence can or cannot develop; biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background; Biological endowment includes genetic factors and whether the brain has suffered any injuries before, during, and after birth; Personal life history includes any interaction that may have awakened or stunted intelligences; and Cultural and historical background includes the environment in which the person was raised. There are many factors in life that could impact your intelligence, Armstrong listed the following: access to resources or mentors, historical-cultural factors, geographic factors, familial factors, and situational factors. The MI Theory helps people understand the different approaches to teaching and understanding. One aspect that is extremely important is the ability to assist a student with work without belittling them. The text mentions crystallizing and paralyzing experiences, which are occurrences that could either stunt (paralyze) or support (crystallize) your abilities. This is important, as a teacher you need to know how to be supportive of your students’ efforts. When a student is incorrect it is not necessary to humiliate them, because that could become a paralyzing experience. Likewise, if that student provided the correct answer it is okay to compliment them, because it could help boost their ego and may even become crystallizing experience.
Ashley Libby
This chapter focused on someone personally figuring out/identifying their Multiple Intelligences. It comes with a great personal survey that you can take to help you identify which Multiple Intelligence you use the most. I was able to look more in depth into the intelligence that I already identified in the previous class. The wording was very positive and it listed them as “abilities” instead of strengths or weaknesses. It makes someone feel more confident about their intelligence as an ability and not a learning weakness. You are able to see that you have more checkmarks in one intelligence but you have a few in the other intelligences as well. It really makes you in think about our every day-to-day tasks and how almost everything can be narrowed down to a certain skill/intelligence that we have in order to accomplish those tasks.
As a teacher, I think it would be a good idea to have students take surveys similar to this so that they can learn what kind of learning style they use. It will help them later on with trying to figure out how to study for a certain test or how to take notes on a reading. They can see what they as students need to learn on to be able to become a more successful student. By creating the skills are interested in. There are many factors as to why students did not develop a certain intelligence to its full potential and it is our job as teachers to give them the opportunity and support to develop them.
Tyler Brown
Once the idea of multiple intelligences is understood, it is crucial to understand the state of our own intelligences so that we can be aware of our own strengths and weaknesses that may alter how we attempt to educate others. If it is discovered that you currently excel in logical/mathematical patterns of intelligence but struggle in other areas such as musical or naturalist intelligences, it is possible to build on your lesser developed intelligences. The benefit of doing so will broaden your ability to not only learn in these different ways, but provide you with the skills to teach or relay information that appeal to those who excel in the various types. It should also be known that your current aptitude for logical/mathematical intelligences may not be your strongest skill set. It is possible that circumstances have led you to develop that skill set or portion of the brain more in comparison to others and that your true strongest intelligence has been limited by personal, cultural, or environmental factors.
For example, pretend it is the year 6,000 BCE and you are born into an early society that relies solely on hunting and gathering for sustenance. Your biological conditions offer you advanced frontal lobes and left temporal lobes allowing you the strengths of a linguistic-type intelligence. Unfortunately, since your companions have yet to develop an advanced system of communication, your innate abilities are undernourished due to those environmental circumstances, and you rely heavily upon your naturalist, interpersonal, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences for survival. If only the educators of your time didn’t disregard your drawing of symbols on rocks as a mindless waste of time, you may have been credited for discovering writing and art.
The belief behind all of this is that in today’s age, we ought to understand that people have innate strengths that may either be obvious or obscure due to due to an event or circumstance that repressed its’ development early-on. To recognize and understand how to appeal to these strengths will bring confidence to an individual and a sense of reason towards the classroom.
Meghan Hughes
In order to understand the multiple intelligences of my future students I will need to understand my own success in the eight areas of intelligence. I liked this chapter because it discussed the validity of standardized tests, and it also discussed what these tests might actually measure. In reality, these standardized tests only measure a small section of the broad spectrum of intelligence. For a teacher, standardized tests can expose areas in which the teacher may need to develop his/her students based on the results.
In order to include multiple intelligences in the classroom there are several methods that might be used to include aspects of intelligence that might not otherwise be included in a traditional classroom setting. One method of doing this is by using the expertise of colleagues. A teacher might be able to reach outside his/her content area to other teachers and may be able to use their advice in including multiple intelligences in the classroom. Another way of doing this is by asking for student input. While I am often skeptical about using too much student input in a classroom setting, I have developed a newly found sense of the importance of the comfort of the students inside a classroom. In order to successfully include the multiple intelligences, it is essential for me to have a good understanding of my own intelligences. I should be able to recognize when I need advice from others, and when I may have enough intelligence to adapt to a new situation involving the intelligences of my future students.
Christopher
The most critical part of this chapter discusses the impact the students may feel from the learning environment and other factors that foster or hamper intellectual development. The chapter discusses how discouraging parents or teachers that humiliate students could slow or stop the development of a student’s intelligence. From this reading, I understand the key role a teacher plays in the development of a student’s intelligence and the need to be delicate and purposeful. With this in mind, I hope to respect each student’s individual ideas and restrain myself from downplaying their hard work if it is in contrast to my own intelligence development. The chapter also discussed figuring out my intelligence strengths and building support to manage the intelligences that I am not as strong in. The idea of working with other teachers to get ideas to teach towards other intelligences is something I plan on doing once I become a teacher. My aunt and the book talk about team teaching. The book uses team teaching to supplement intelligences a teacher might not be as equipped to deal with. My aunt team teaches with another teacher (she is special ed) which allows for combined classes with a very large variance in learning styles. Both the book and my aunt use team teaching to meet the needs of a wider range of student skill levels. Though it is questionable whether or not my school would have team teaching, I could try some ways to come close (guest speakers, advisers, etc.).
Matt
Directly from the start, this chapter impacted my thoughts about teaching. The first sentence displays the type of view that I wish to carry forward as I become a full time classroom teacher. The author’s point is that we, as teachers, should always become familiar with something and somewhat understand its meaning before we push it upon our students. We must continuously work to understand the needs of our students by walking in their shoes so to speak. By putting ourselves in their positions we will be able to better relate, and find ways to help our students better understand.
Chapter two also taught me ways to find my own MIs. It provided strategies and ideas in terms of working with other MIs within the classroom. This was solid information for me, because I used to worry about how I would get all eight of these across to my students. It would be near impossible considering I have close to no exposure to them myself. I will have to see other colleagues expertise, ask students for help, and use technology to further my understanding. This is so I will be able to better create lessons with multiple MIs.
While thinking about how I will take these suggestions into my classroom I continued to think back to my foundational theory that there is no such thing as a closed system, at least in terms of the brain of an individual. By releasing this to my students I will hopefully be able to promote constant improvement. I hope to provide my students with different approaches to each lesson, ultimately giving them the opportunity to discover important things on any given day. Through these ideas I will work my hardest to provide my students with “ah ha moments” that they will never forget.
Michael
Reading response to multiple intelligences in the classroom chapter 2
The knowledge of your own multiple intelligences is a good strength to have before beginning teaching. It is stated that it is important to remember that improving the intelligences that yo are not strong in will increase your effectiveness as a teacher. If you just teach to your strengths than the students in your class may not pick up on what you are trying to teach them.
It is a good idea to try and reach out to your resources to try and facilitate all learning styles in the classroom. You can contact your co-workers and try and either get ideas from them to incorporate into your lessons or you can try and get them into the classrooms with you to team teach a lesson. The ideal committee to plan curriculum consists of people who are highly developed in all of the intelligences. It is also smart to try and talk to your students and find out what they want in the lesson to work with how they learn. There is also always technology to work with in this situation. Take full advantage of technology.
It is a good idea to try and take control of your own intelligences and try and develop the ones that you are lacking in. it is also important to remember why some of your students may be underdeveloped in certain intelligences. There are several factors that are attributed to whether people reach their capable intelligence in each area. These include biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background. Some environmental factors also include access to resources, geographic factors, familial factors, and situational factors.
Table of Contents
Michael Diffin
Abstract:
This chapter illustrates the importance of teaching to the individual multiple intelligences of the students and how these teaching styles would work with ourselves. The chapter makes us look at how the students learn and how we can accommodate these learning styles. There are many learning styles that we must accommodate and work with the students in order to find out how to have the students get the most out of the classes they are in. the chapter also concentrates on how the intelligences are developed and how to further develop them. The chapter heavily concentrates on the different factors that were uncontrollable by the students and how these affect the multiple intelligences. There are many factors that are uncontrollable that were results of situations and events both inside and outside of the classroom. There are however many ways to take what we know about MI theory and change how we teach so that we are teaching all of our students.
Synthesis:
There are an abundance of things inside and outside of the classroom that influence the way that children learn and will continue to learn in the future. These influences have been affecting them since they were born and unfortunately all of the multiple intelligences are usually not facilitated. It is the job of the teacher to use the lesson to change the lesson to fit the individual. The necessary first step is for the teacher to discover their own multiple intelligences, their strengths and weaknesses. For the teacher to know their own strengths and weaknesses they know how people of their intelligences do and do not learn, this would also allow the teacher to better understand how people the complete opposite of them would learn. There is a large section on asking for help. Asking for help would facilitate not only healthy relationships with between the students and teachers but allow them to show directly how the student learns. It is also a good idea to get help from other teachers as they may learn differently. To get help from a music teacher would make so that the students in your class who learn better with music get the information better, this would be the same if you were to as an art teacher. There are also many activities that can be done to access all of the intelligences.
Cole Phillips
Chapter Two
One of the beautiful things about the concept of Multiple Intelligences is that, once aware of our own, we have the ability to develop both our strongest and weakest traits in attempt to make ourselves well-rounded and adaptable professionals. Whether noticing strong traits in others, or simply doing some reading, we have the capacity to expand our minds.
Ours is a world filled with diversity, skills and talents, allotting us a veritable pool from which to draw experiences and ideas. Our colleagues are often excellent examples of such pools. Should we allow ourselves to malleable and open to development, we can gain insight from the teachers around us, taking note of their abilities, their experiences, and their stories. Perhaps, though, our most important and most potent sources for such expansion ability lie in our students. Being able to recognize a student’s needs or wants in the classroom, and understanding that such desires will often be out of our individual comfort zones, is key to understanding where we need to improve so that we may offer the best possible learning experience for each and every student, despite our inherent abilities. If we can master general thinking, and then hone in on the specifics that cater to each and every student and allow them to leave the classroom feeling fulfilled, then we have adequately developed our Multiple Intelligences, and we can continue to get better with every class.
Cheyenne
This is the chapter I needed! The heading “Developing Your Multiple Intelligences” is exactly what I hope to do. My main intelligence is Visual/Spatial, which was tied with Verbal/Linguistic, but I hope to be knowledgeable in all eight of the intelligences. I thought the “crystallizing experiences” and “paralyzing experiences” were very interesting concepts. They make sense, reading the paragraph I tried to think of subjects I really enjoy and subjects I could not care less to engage in; then tried to think of any experiences that made me like or dislike them. This is definitely going to impact me in the classroom (as a teacher), I don’t ever want to be a student’s “paralyzing experience”. I will make sure to be very conscious of my actions. I am definitely going to use this as a guide, it is full of useful advice that I can use when I feel stuck with a student or my own teaching method. Knowing that environmental influences can promote or suppress the development is a very important note to keep in mind. I knew that family life and other things like that impacted who we are, but I never thought about it influencing the actual way we learn and are intelligent. I guess I thought it was something we were born with. Knowing this, my classroom will definitely be impacted by who my students truly are. I will need to get to know my students personally, who they are outside of class, and furthermore, outside of school, to make sure I am benefiting them as learners and people.Devin Boilard
Chapter Two: MI Theory and Personal DevelopmentChapter Two did well to reiterate how we as individuals have a “go to” intelligence in which we are internally wired to resort to. The last chapter did well to make me aware of this trait and how it can be detrimental to the learning of some of my students who excel under alternative methods. Two suggestions that were proposed in this chapter that I thought were excellent recommendations was the seeking out of input by those who vary from you in their learning styles. Inquiring to a fellow college in the Science department as to how I might incorporate methods to better attract the naturalists in the classroom is an easy and effect activity to start the brainstorming process. The second recommendation was to go straight to the source, the students themselves. We as teachers are learners as well and the opportunity to work one-on-one with students that differ from our preferred intelligence is one of the best modes to gather data on how these individuals think.
The conclusion of Chapter Two does well to support this idea, stressing the natural ability of all individuals to possess talents in each of the eight intelligences, as well as the capability to advance them. Many individuals are quick to down play their success in the intelligences that are not their most dominant, in doing so they halt the process of expanding their understanding and advancing those techniques. In correlation to this, Chapter Two does well to mention the external factors that play a significant part in the maturing of each of these intelligences, such as the role nurture vs. nature plays. As a teacher I should not only adapt my teaching style to incorporate the methods that work best for each student but also push them to work outside their comfort zone and develop those skills that are underdeveloped not due to ability but because of circumstance.
Ashley Godbout
I learned that intelligences can be activated and deactivated depending on surroundings, upbringings, social economic status, and access to resources. A teacher can also play a huge role in this process and sometimes may not even realize it. In the book they reference to when a kid brings a piece of artwork to class and the teacher (or students) laugh at it causing the beginning of his artistic growth to be crushed. Negativity, anger, fear, and guilt are all reasons that forbid our intelligences to grow and flourish. As a teacher, I want to do the opposite. A child could miss out on an opportunity to discover something about them and I wouldn’t want to be the one who caused that. I want to foster intelligence growth in my students and use activities that help their neglected, or paralyzed, intelligences develop. The book makes a point to tell us that we don’t need to be proficient in all eight intelligences but that we should know how to use resources for the ones we usually don’t think about. When developing curriculum we should go to a music teacher to help incorporate those who think musically for example. All eight intelligences should be physically represented when creating curriculum so all students can have the opportunity to shine in class and be interested in the content. Lastly, as a teacher I think it might be weird to ask students for advice but this might be the best option. We want to think more like them and strengthen our intelligences to be like theirs so what better what to do then ask them. Their strategies and abilities could be extremely helpful to other and future students.Russell Warren
It was pleasing to read Thomas Armstrong recognize that intelligence, multiple or not, is not just based on hard work. The idea that with enough hard work, a person can reach great success, really frustrates me. Like Armstrong, I understand that most people require the ability to fine tune and work of equalizing their own personal intelligences, but in many cases, like his example of Mozart, genius “arises through a confluence of biological, personal, and cultural / historical factors” (p. 28). This relates back to my argument regarding standardized testing. Yes, they serve a purpose, but the culture of our education has focused so fully on good test-taking skill and excellent marks and grades, that many students, including myself, were commonly left behind. Armstrong states that these occasions are called paralyzing experiences, and I have personally seen many of my fellow students throughout my education be pushed behind due to their lack of following the accepted path of singular intelligence. Personally, I found myself throughout middle school and much of high school falling behind due to my lack of discussion in class, or the completion of my homework. I was a smart student and I really enjoyed being in school, but the way some of my classes were organized didn’t allow me to grow or simply understand concepts I troubled with, including science and math. On my MI evaluation in class, I didn’t receive one logical/mathematical choice, in either free of forced. However, I excelled in intrapersonal and verbal/linguistic. It’s unfair to many students to inflict a regimented and inflexible classroom, as many of them will be physically unable and without the capacity to develop their intelligence and understand the material and concepts being taught.Tyler Michaud
The second chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on the development of different intelligences, including elements that could hinder or hasten them. Three factors decide whether an intelligence can or cannot develop; biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background; Biological endowment includes genetic factors and whether the brain has suffered any injuries before, during, and after birth; Personal life history includes any interaction that may have awakened or stunted intelligences; and Cultural and historical background includes the environment in which the person was raised. There are many factors in life that could impact your intelligence, Armstrong listed the following: access to resources or mentors, historical-cultural factors, geographic factors, familial factors, and situational factors. The MI Theory helps people understand the different approaches to teaching and understanding.One aspect that is extremely important is the ability to assist a student with work without belittling them. The text mentions crystallizing and paralyzing experiences, which are occurrences that could either stunt (paralyze) or support (crystallize) your abilities. This is important, as a teacher you need to know how to be supportive of your students’ efforts. When a student is incorrect it is not necessary to humiliate them, because that could become a paralyzing experience. Likewise, if that student provided the correct answer it is okay to compliment them, because it could help boost their ego and may even become crystallizing experience.
Ashley Libby
This chapter focused on someone personally figuring out/identifying their Multiple Intelligences. It comes with a great personal survey that you can take to help you identify which Multiple Intelligence you use the most. I was able to look more in depth into the intelligence that I already identified in the previous class. The wording was very positive and it listed them as “abilities” instead of strengths or weaknesses. It makes someone feel more confident about their intelligence as an ability and not a learning weakness. You are able to see that you have more checkmarks in one intelligence but you have a few in the other intelligences as well. It really makes you in think about our every day-to-day tasks and how almost everything can be narrowed down to a certain skill/intelligence that we have in order to accomplish those tasks.As a teacher, I think it would be a good idea to have students take surveys similar to this so that they can learn what kind of learning style they use. It will help them later on with trying to figure out how to study for a certain test or how to take notes on a reading. They can see what they as students need to learn on to be able to become a more successful student. By creating the skills are interested in. There are many factors as to why students did not develop a certain intelligence to its full potential and it is our job as teachers to give them the opportunity and support to develop them.
Tyler Brown
Once the idea of multiple intelligences is understood, it is crucial to understand the state of our own intelligences so that we can be aware of our own strengths and weaknesses that may alter how we attempt to educate others. If it is discovered that you currently excel in logical/mathematical patterns of intelligence but struggle in other areas such as musical or naturalist intelligences, it is possible to build on your lesser developed intelligences. The benefit of doing so will broaden your ability to not only learn in these different ways, but provide you with the skills to teach or relay information that appeal to those who excel in the various types. It should also be known that your current aptitude for logical/mathematical intelligences may not be your strongest skill set. It is possible that circumstances have led you to develop that skill set or portion of the brain more in comparison to others and that your true strongest intelligence has been limited by personal, cultural, or environmental factors.
For example, pretend it is the year 6,000 BCE and you are born into an early society that relies solely on hunting and gathering for sustenance. Your biological conditions offer you advanced frontal lobes and left temporal lobes allowing you the strengths of a linguistic-type intelligence. Unfortunately, since your companions have yet to develop an advanced system of communication, your innate abilities are undernourished due to those environmental circumstances, and you rely heavily upon your naturalist, interpersonal, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences for survival. If only the educators of your time didn’t disregard your drawing of symbols on rocks as a mindless waste of time, you may have been credited for discovering writing and art.
The belief behind all of this is that in today’s age, we ought to understand that people have innate strengths that may either be obvious or obscure due to due to an event or circumstance that repressed its’ development early-on. To recognize and understand how to appeal to these strengths will bring confidence to an individual and a sense of reason towards the classroom.
Meghan Hughes
In order to understand the multiple intelligences of my future students I will need to understand my own success in the eight areas of intelligence. I liked this chapter because it discussed the validity of standardized tests, and it also discussed what these tests might actually measure. In reality, these standardized tests only measure a small section of the broad spectrum of intelligence. For a teacher, standardized tests can expose areas in which the teacher may need to develop his/her students based on the results.
In order to include multiple intelligences in the classroom there are several methods that might be used to include aspects of intelligence that might not otherwise be included in a traditional classroom setting. One method of doing this is by using the expertise of colleagues. A teacher might be able to reach outside his/her content area to other teachers and may be able to use their advice in including multiple intelligences in the classroom. Another way of doing this is by asking for student input. While I am often skeptical about using too much student input in a classroom setting, I have developed a newly found sense of the importance of the comfort of the students inside a classroom. In order to successfully include the multiple intelligences, it is essential for me to have a good understanding of my own intelligences. I should be able to recognize when I need advice from others, and when I may have enough intelligence to adapt to a new situation involving the intelligences of my future students.
Christopher
The most critical part of this chapter discusses the impact the students may feel from the learning environment and other factors that foster or hamper intellectual development. The chapter discusses how discouraging parents or teachers that humiliate students could slow or stop the development of a student’s intelligence. From this reading, I understand the key role a teacher plays in the development of a student’s intelligence and the need to be delicate and purposeful. With this in mind, I hope to respect each student’s individual ideas and restrain myself from downplaying their hard work if it is in contrast to my own intelligence development. The chapter also discussed figuring out my intelligence strengths and building support to manage the intelligences that I am not as strong in. The idea of working with other teachers to get ideas to teach towards other intelligences is something I plan on doing once I become a teacher. My aunt and the book talk about team teaching. The book uses team teaching to supplement intelligences a teacher might not be as equipped to deal with. My aunt team teaches with another teacher (she is special ed) which allows for combined classes with a very large variance in learning styles. Both the book and my aunt use team teaching to meet the needs of a wider range of student skill levels. Though it is questionable whether or not my school would have team teaching, I could try some ways to come close (guest speakers, advisers, etc.).
Matt
Directly from the start, this chapter impacted my thoughts about teaching. The first sentence displays the type of view that I wish to carry forward as I become a full time classroom teacher. The author’s point is that we, as teachers, should always become familiar with something and somewhat understand its meaning before we push it upon our students. We must continuously work to understand the needs of our students by walking in their shoes so to speak. By putting ourselves in their positions we will be able to better relate, and find ways to help our students better understand.Chapter two also taught me ways to find my own MIs. It provided strategies and ideas in terms of working with other MIs within the classroom. This was solid information for me, because I used to worry about how I would get all eight of these across to my students. It would be near impossible considering I have close to no exposure to them myself. I will have to see other colleagues expertise, ask students for help, and use technology to further my understanding. This is so I will be able to better create lessons with multiple MIs.
While thinking about how I will take these suggestions into my classroom I continued to think back to my foundational theory that there is no such thing as a closed system, at least in terms of the brain of an individual. By releasing this to my students I will hopefully be able to promote constant improvement. I hope to provide my students with different approaches to each lesson, ultimately giving them the opportunity to discover important things on any given day. Through these ideas I will work my hardest to provide my students with “ah ha moments” that they will never forget.
Michael
Reading response to multiple intelligences in the classroom chapter 2The knowledge of your own multiple intelligences is a good strength to have before beginning teaching. It is stated that it is important to remember that improving the intelligences that yo are not strong in will increase your effectiveness as a teacher. If you just teach to your strengths than the students in your class may not pick up on what you are trying to teach them.
It is a good idea to try and reach out to your resources to try and facilitate all learning styles in the classroom. You can contact your co-workers and try and either get ideas from them to incorporate into your lessons or you can try and get them into the classrooms with you to team teach a lesson. The ideal committee to plan curriculum consists of people who are highly developed in all of the intelligences. It is also smart to try and talk to your students and find out what they want in the lesson to work with how they learn. There is also always technology to work with in this situation. Take full advantage of technology.
It is a good idea to try and take control of your own intelligences and try and develop the ones that you are lacking in. it is also important to remember why some of your students may be underdeveloped in certain intelligences. There are several factors that are attributed to whether people reach their capable intelligence in each area. These include biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background. Some environmental factors also include access to resources, geographic factors, familial factors, and situational factors.